Bongs For Jesus Court Case

Review: A complicated case in 'BONG HiTS 4 JESUS'

The case worked its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in a ruling that essentially declared student speech seen as encouraging drug use as unprotected by the Constitution. The road to that ruling, seen by some as a major encroachment on the free speech rights of students, is exhaustively and quite evenhandedly examined by Oregon State University political science professor James C. Foster in a new book that shares its title with Frederick’s banner. Foster isn’t taking sides in this dispute. He explores it from virtually all angles, picking apart the arguments of both parties, as well as the various decisions handed down by the three courts that heard the case. He has sympathy for both Frederick and Morse, but this doesn’t prevent him from criticizing decisions each made that prevented them from resolving their conflict. At the heart of Foster’s book is his understanding that the two sides each presented their own narrative of what occurred. He points out that virtually the only facts agreed upon are that Frederick hoisted the banner and Morse took it down and suspended him. Everything that happened from the time Frederick entered Morse’s office is disputed. Frederick’s story has shifted somewhat over time, but his basic claim is that he was merely attempting to exercise his free speech rights and get seen on television. He insists his slogan wasn’t meant to promote drug use but simply conjoined drug slang with religion to be controversial and draw attention. As Foster explains, Frederick’s narrative is that he is a victim and should be compensated. Looking at these two divergent views on the same incident, Foster notes that both Frederick and Morse dug in and refused to acknowledge, much less understand, the other’s position. Frederick decided he was a champion of free speech based on his admittedly childish stunt. Morse saw herself as the guardian of order who could brook no such action.

Law & Politics Book Review: BONG HiTS 4 JESUS: A PERFECT ...

In his introductory notes to BONG HiTS 4 JESUS, James C. Foster identifies the tradition of in-depth analysis of particular Supreme Court cases that he truly admires; the tradition involves taking one case (or a small set) and delving into its legal, political, anthropological, and literary dimensions. He refers to authors such as Alan Westin, Peter Irons and Anthony Lewis in this context – many readers will immediately know what to expect. While Westin, Irons et al. tackled landmark opinions, Foster takes his microscope to a case somewhat less elevated, MORSE v. FREDERICK, a student free speech case originating in 2002 in Juneau, Alaska. MORSE took a five year odyssey to the United States Supreme Court in 2007 and then came to a painful conclusion in the fall of 2008. As Justice Holmes once put it, “the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done” and it is the circumstance of MORSE v. FREDERICK that entices Foster to a book-length analysis. In the beginning we should have the facts of the case but in MORSE some key facts are problematic. Beyond dispute is that a school district approved an event where students would line the street to cheer on the Winter Olympic torch relay as it passed in front of Juneau-Douglas High School. Students were released from the school building and lined both sides of the street; some were on school property, some were not. It was January in Alaska, no one was going to stay waving at the relay, or the TV cameras, for very long. Principal Deborah Morse was present, trying to minimize snowball incidents. One group of students wanted to attract TV coverage by displaying a banner with a provocative slogan. The slogan they chose was "BONG HiTS 4 JESUS." Joseph Frederick was one of that group, and he was the one holding the banner when the Principal crossed the street, confronted him and seized the banner. Frederick was subsequently punished for a variety of infractions of school policy.

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